On the heels of Friday's release of William Michael Morgan's highly anticipated debut album Vinyl, the breakout star notches his first No. 1 on country airplay with the album's lead single, "I Met A Girl." A single that wouldn't quit, "Girl" spent 58 weeks at radio and 49 weeks on the Mediabase/Aircheck chart, boasting the longest chart run to No. 1 in its history. Much like his debut track, Morgan also doesn't quit. Having a number one song on country radio has been his dream since he received his first guitar at 11 years old. Morgan started playing out with guys three or four times his age, learning the old songs and savoring that classic honky-tonk style.
"Wow. We did it! What a dream come true," said Morgan. "After 58 weeks of clawing and fighting and believing and trusting in our radio promo team, my management Joe Carter and Mike Taliaferro, the entire Warner Music Nashville team, country radio, the fans, my producers Jimmy Ritchey and Scott Hendricks, my family and friends for undying and unwavering support, and most importantly the good Lord above...I am proud and most importantly honored to announce my gratitude and many thanks to everyone involved in this most special moment in my life, and in my career! Here's to this No, 1 and hopefully many more to come. God bless all of you. And God bless country music!"
"I Met A Girl," co-written by Sam Hunt, along with Trevor Rosen (Old Dominion) and Shane McAnally has racked up a staggering half billion plus in audience with more than 15 million streams, including 6 million views of its official video, and nearly a quarter million tracks sold. Named one of Billboard's "Country Songs of the Summer," the single has already topped SiriusXM's "The Highway" Top 45 Countdown chart and has earned a spot on Spotify's Hot Country Playlist, which taps into the hottest tracks worldwide from today's superstars to the latest up-and-coming artists, for five consecutive weeks.
"This song truly paves the way for William Michael and the joyful traditional sound to get back on the airwaves," says John Esposito, Chairman and CEO of Warner Music Nashville. "This historic run proves the tenacity of artist development, which is the cornerstone of how our label rolls!"
"I Met A Girl" is among the 11 stellar songs included on Morgan's debut album
Vinyl, deemed a "must hear" by
Rolling Stone and produced by award-winning Scott Hendricks and Jimmy Ritchey.
Vinyl also features his next single "Missing" (Rhett Akins, Marv Green) a wandering-man's anthem about gettin' up, gettin' out and unplugging for a while. Morgan has written with and drawn from many of Music City's biggest present-day hit-making songwriters all the while taking inspiration from country music heroes like Keith Whitley,
George Jones and his friend and mentor, '90s honky-tonk king Mark Chesnutt. The captivating combination creates a neo-traditional sound that is all his own.
NPR proclaimed that "[Morgan] knows his stuff and stands on solidly traditional footing," while praising his "unreserved sentimentality" and "easeful, fine-tuned singing approach."
Sounds Like Nashville praises Morgan for proving "he is far from a one-trick pony. He manages to give a nod to his heroes without merely imitating them, which is a rare thing....and oh, yeah - He's Country."
And it isn't just critics who are praising Morgan - other artists have offered their endorsements as well. ACM Entertainer of the Year
Jason Aldean professed his support saying "I think it's really important to have those guys that are the traditionalists, that carry the flag in country music, and after hearing this guy sing I was like, 'He could be the dude.' I love the song, I love his voice and I hope he does well because I think we need this kind of thing in the format."
Morgan has come a long way since his days of playing hayrides once a month and other various local bookings secured by his parents. The 23-year-old Vicksburg, MS native continues to hit the road throughout the fall, including a performance tonight at the Southwest Porch at
Bryant Park in New York City. The
Circle in the City concert series, presented by the Grand Ole Opry and Southwest Airlines, will feature his free acoustic performance beginning at 6:00 p.m. Morgan will head back to the historic Ryman
Auditorium on Thursday,
October 6 to perform on
Opry Country Classics and will celebrate the release of
Vinyl the following evening. The singer/songwriter will kick off 2017 by joining country music stars
Lee Brice and
Justin Moore on the "American Made" Tour. Morgan will start the trek January 12 in Indianapolis, IN and continue through March, playing 20 cities across the country.
For more information and tour dates, please visit
www.williammichaelmorgan.com / follow
William Michael Morgan on
Facebook /
Twitter /
Instagram.
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